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MEA generates $8 billion pay-TV revenues

Digital TV penetration will reach two-thirds of total TV households in the Middle East & Africa region by end-2014; having crossed the halfway mark in 2011, according to a new report from Digital TV Research. The Digital TV Middle East & Africa Databook (covering 56 countries) estimates that digital TV penetration will be 73.8% in the Middle East & North Africa (up from 64.3% in 2010) and 57.1% in Sub-Saharan Africa (up from only 19.2% in 2010).

The Middle East & Africa will reach 89.3 million digital TV households by end-2014, up by 12.4 million during the year and up by 32.4 million since 2010. Free-to-air satellite TV will become the most popular platform in 2014; overtaking the declining analog terrestrial total.

The Middle East & North Africa will provide 60.3 million of the 2014 total (up from 49.0 million in 2010), with Sub-Saharan Africa supplying 28.9 million (nearly quadruple the 7.9 million recorded in 2010). From the 32.4 million additions since 2010, Nigeria will provide 7.2 million, Turkey 2.9 million, South Africa 2.5 million and Kenya 2.2 million.

There will be 132.4 million TV households across the region by end-2014; up from 117.2 million in 2010. However, 113.0 million homes (46.0% of total households) will not have a TV set by end-2014.

Pay-TV revenues will reach $8.00 billion in 2014, up from $4.84 billion in 2010. Satellite TV contributes the bulk of pay TV revenues, with its share of the total rising from 77.5% in 2010 to 78.8% in 2014. Pay-TV revenues in the Middle East & North Africa will increase from $3.0 billion in 2010 to $4.4 billion in 2014, with Sub-Saharan Africa doubling over the same period to $3.6 billion.

Pay-TV subscriptions will jump by 75.5% from 16.3 million in 2010 to 28.7 million by end-2014. Some way behind pay satellite TV, IPTV is growing fast and should overtake digital cable soon. The Middle East & North Africa will have 15.5 million pay-TV subs by end-2014 (up from 10.6 million in 2010), with Sub-Saharan Africa on 13.1 million (more than double the 2010 total). Turkey will lead with 6.7 million pay-TV subs at end-2014, followed by South Africa (5.1 million).

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